Developing Objectives, Indicators, and Benchmarks for Effective Ecosystem Management

1. 13. Steps 3.1 & 3.2 Develop objectives,indicators and benchmarks Essential EAFM Date •Place Version 1

2. Develop management objectives Develop indicators and benchmarks related to the objectives Session objectives After this session you will be able to: 2

3. 3.1 Management objectives 3.2 Indicators and benchmarks 3

4. Building the EAFM plan 4

5. 3.1 Developing objectives Managementobjective Priority threat/issue Ask: What specifically for this issue do you want to achieve? 5

6. What you want to achieve! Objectives Achievable through management actions Management objective management objective = To reduce the % of juvenile fish caught management objective = Improve the health of the ecosystem 6

7. 3.2 What is an indicator? • It measures the current status at one point in time (e.g. temperature, number of fish, area of mangroves) • When compared with an benchmark, the indicator provides a measure of how well you are meeting the objective An indicator must be linked to the objective 7

8. Fishery resources example 8

9. Ecological example 9

10. Social example 10

11. Governance example 11

12. Indicators must be “SMART”… • Specific (in terms of quantity, quality and time) • Measurable (easy to measure with acceptable cost) • Available (from existing sources or with reasonable extra effort) • Relevant (to objectives and sensitive to change) • Timely (to ensure usefulness to managers) 12

13. What is a benchmark? • A target, limit, or baseline that provides a reference for comparing the indicator Target = where you want to be Limit = where you do not want to be Baseline = where you have come from (e.g. Target: Increase the area of mangroves by xx% by 2020) Remember: when the indicator is compared to benchmark it tells you how well you are meeting the objective 13

14. Simple example • Objective: • Reduce the fever of a sick patient • Indicator: • The patient’s body temperature • Benchmark: • 37 degrees Celsius in 2 days (target) 14

15. Indicators and benchmarks 15

16. Data & information for the indicators and benchmarks • Data and information are needed for the indicators and benchmarks • Use existing data • Collect new data, if necessary • Use participatory approaches, if possible Note: Data & information is a cross-cutting theme. It was needed for scoping to set the background and now for indicators and benchmarks 16

17. Key indicator questions • What: what needs to be measured? • Who: who will measure them? • Where: where will the data come from? 17

18. Participatory M&E • Stakeholders are involved in: - developing the indicators and benchmarks - collecting data - deciding on the methods to use • Indicators developed locally have more relevance 18

19. Key messages In Step 3.1-3.2: • Management objectives are developed. This involves agreeing on what is to be achieved for each high-priority issue • Objectives are paired with indicators and benchmarks to be able to assess whether the objective is being achieved 19

20. In your groups • Choose at least 4 issues that were categorized as hi/hi (2 ecological (1 fish & 1 environmental)); (1 human & 1 governance). • Develop a management objective for each issue • Select indicator(s) and benchmark(s) for each management objective Outputs- Goal: Issue: Objective: Indicator: Benchmark: 20